One of the unique experiences I have had as an archivist is building a brand new archive from scratch. In addition to developing policies and procedures, securing proper storage space, processing collections, and making large orders to Gaylord Archival, I have had the opportunity to start building the archive and its collections at the most basic level. I had to define what was going to be collected and how we would make it available and findable. I have had to put in place the basic structure and functions of ArchiveSpace, after selecting it, and develop and train colleagues on its use. I have had to educate fellow librarians who had no archive training, library staff, other organizational employees, the public, and board members on what an archive is, and is not. I have had to make the case for an archive’s importance towards the organizational mission, and solicit potential donors for new collections. On top of all of these things, I have also had the pleasure of hosting an archivist and historian from Ireland at our facility as a cultural exchange in order to compare and contrast the different ways we make the records in our care accessible.
